Welcome and thanks for stopping by. I’ve enjoyed wine all my life, and I’ve written about it for a good while, too. I learned a simple lesson. It’s always better being in the wine cellar sharing wine, good times and memorable moments with friends than being on the outside looking in!

My early experiences with good food and small tastes of wine came with my paternal Italian aunt, Frances. What a fun, caring and wise character! She made wine at home in a spotless basement using prized old barrels and “serendipity,” as she liked to say.

My maternal grandfather, George, had a French mother (from Paris) and Belgian father (from Tilff near Liège). So my Francophone and Francophile roots run deep. I spent countless happy hours working in my grandfather’s potager garden turning the soil, watering vegetables and, of course, picking! There was a little terrace covered by a trellis with native grapes that we enjoyed right off the vines. I still enjoy gardening and the fresh bounty that it brings.

These delicious moments and vivid memories inspire my writing, teaching and travels. Since 1994, I’ve penned over 1,000 published wine columns. I love visiting winegrowers to listen and learn and then report on the terroir and the wines.

I am a French Wine Scholar with Bourgogne Masters Level Certification from the Wine Scholar Guild in Washington, D.C., and I am a member of the Circle of Wine Writers in the United Kingdom. I trained as a wine judge through the American Wine Society. Several times I participated in The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood in Napa Valley, California.

Each year, I organize wine and food tours with small groups. Our favorite destinations include cities such as Paris, Milan. and Montreal and wine regions such as Burgundy, the Rhône Valley, Alsace, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lake Garda, Trentino, Alto Adige/Südtirol, and bella Calabria.

If you have a wine question or would like to contact me, then please click “Ask Dave”. Cheers!